This invention relates to a method for providing enzyme activity to the surface of an article.
Studies have been made on the use of enzymes bonded onto water-insoluble carriers as catalysts for the production of food, medicines, etc., and they have reportedly been put into practical use for the production of amino acid, fruit sugar, etc. Additionally, the use of a tube with urease, uricase, or the like fixed thereon as a material for clinical examinations, and the use of a tube with urokinase fixed thereon as an antithrombogenic medical material, have been studied.
Bonding such enzymes onto the surface of an article requires the presence on the surface of the article of active groups capable of bonding with the enzymes. Thus, various methods to introduce active groups into the surface of articles comprising cellulose, dextran, polyamide, polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, silicone rubber, etc., have been proposed. These methods, however, vary in their capability of bonding the enzymes, depending upon the material constituting the article, and, moreover, require very complicated surface treatments which sometimes deteriorate the mechanical properties of the article, making it impossible to increase the enzyme activity of the surface.
The inventors have filed in the United States the following two patent applications:
"A Process for Producing an Antithrombogenic Polyurethane by Fixation of a Fibrinolytic Enzyme to The Surface of Polyurethane" (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 928,496); and "Process for Producing Antithrombogenic Vinyl Acetate Polymer or Hydrolysate Thereof" (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 43,601).